


For By Stroking of Him I Have Found Out Electricity

by Kibbers



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, High School AU, M/M, Pining, literature project, nerdy! sam, partners for project, popular! gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-09 10:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3246461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kibbers/pseuds/Kibbers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Gabriel get paired up for their final English project. The assignment: pick a line of poetry that exemplifies your partner and write a two page essay on why. The problem: Sam doesn't much like Gabriel. Sam's going to have to spend a whole lot more time with Gabriel to get an A in the class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thank you to [ Supernovacharlie ](http://supernovacharlie.tumblr.com/) for being an absolutely fantastic beta and delightful person!  
> Also check out their AO3 account, Supernova, [ here ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Supernovacharlie/)!
> 
> Please let me know what you think below and come talk to me on tumblr at [ kibberswrites ](http://kibberswrites.tumblr.com/).

“Okay class, listen up!” Ms. Mills said, clapping her hands at the front of the classroom. Sam sighed, irritated with how long it was taking everyone to quiet down. One boy’s voice kept going long after all of the others, and Sam knew exactly who it was. Gabriel, professional class clown and loud-mouth. Ms. Mills grabbed a stack of literature textbooks and leaned over Gabriel’s desk in the front row, pausing a second before slamming them down loud enough to echo. Gabriel jumped, flailed, and fell out of his plastic chair and onto the musty grey carpeted floor, eliciting laughter from the whole class. He sheepishly slid back into his chair as Ms. Mills took her place at the front again, his cheeks red and eyes kept downcast.

“Now that I have your attention, I will be going over the semester-long project that I give instead of a final. Remember, that means twenty percent of your grade, people, so listen up.  Let me break it down for you. First, I’ll be splitting you up into pairs.”Sam stared down at his desk, fingers crossed that he would get someone easy to work with, or at least someone who would contribute. He was always stuck doing all the work while his partners slacked off, and he was sick of it. He thought through the class roster. Charlie would be amazing, Gadreel would be all right if a little quiet, Crowley would be the absolute worst. No, actually....

“Sam, Gabriel, you’re a pair,” Ms. Mills said. She kept talking, but Sam stopped listening. Gabriel. Of all people, it had to be Gabriel. The Gabriel that always teased him about his name. The homecoming king Gabriel. Class clown Gabriel. Sam sighed and stood up to go sit next to his partner. He slowly put his books into his backpack, making sure the glossy pages didn’t crease.

“Heya, Sammich,” Gabriel said sinking into the empty desk in front of Sam, startling him. Sam jerked back; a ripping sound came from his backpack.  He froze, praying to anything and everything he could think of that it wasn’t ripped. It was a library book and he certainly couldn’t afford to buy a new one. He pulled the book out and his heart sank even more. It was ripped all right, the entire cover split into two horizontally. Gabriel’s eyes widened and he reached out, his hands hovering over the rip.

“Shit, Sammy, I’m sorry. I’ll pay for it, I didn’t realize,” he rambled almost frantically.

“No, it's okay, I’ll figure something out,” Sam waved him off, putting the book back into his backpack and zipping the whole thing up. He’d have to deal with that later. Now he needed to figure out this project. Ms. Mills, now finished assigning partners, wrote out steps on the board.

  1.       Interview your partner and fill out the worksheet.
  2.       Pick out one line of poetry that exemplifies your partner.
  3.       Write a 2 page essay explaining why you chose that line.
  4.       Present your line and reasoning to me individually (your partner can’t know).



“Just to elaborate, the only part that requires a partner is the interview. However, to be able to write a two page essay, I recommend spending more time each other. Then, I will meet with each of you one- on-one and you will present your line and reasoning. You can’t tell your partner. After you present it to me, you are more than welcome to tell them; however it is not required. I’ll be posting signup sheets for the one-on-ones next week. Your grade is based on your justification. Use the rest of class to exchange phone numbers, set up meeting places, etc. You have around two months to complete the entire assignment. Any questions?”

Sam copied the steps down on a separate piece of paper, sighing. This meant he’d have to spend a lot more time with Gabriel than he originally thought. Any normal project and they’d just divide and conquer individually, but that wasn’t possible in these circumstances. He looked up to find Gabriel already turning his desk around to face Sam. 

“Alright, Sammyboy, let’s do this. Here, I’ll give you my number,” Gabriel said as he scribbled it onto the paper in front of Sam. “Just text me when you want to meet. I’m usually free Sundays all day and most weekdays, so just let me know.” He flashed a grin at Sam.

“It’s Sam,” Sam corrected.

“Huh?” Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at Sam.

“I go by Sam,” He said, but Gabriel had already turned around and was saying something to someone across the room. Sam shook his head and started reading through the interview questions silently. Gabriel, having left his paper elsewhere, turned Sam’s paper a little and read sideways.

“This seems pretty basic,” Sam said, “Do you want to come up with some additional questions? Some a little more in depth than ‘What’s your favorite color?’or ‘Do you have pets?’"

“Smart thinking. How about we each come up with five to ten for our first meeting?” Gabriel replied. Sam nodded. That done, he pulled out his library book, trying really hard not to mess with the tear, and opened it to his bookmarked page. He tried to read, but he could feel Gabriel’s eyes on him. He glared up at the boy until he opened his mouth.

“All right, Sammy, text me, okay?” Gabriel said.

“It’s Sam,” he whispered, but Gabriel was already telling a story to his friends across the room. Now alone, Sam sighed, no longer on high alert. He shut his book, opting to stare out the window for the last few minutes of class. Outside, no clouds blocked the view of the Arizona blue sky. The kids at lunch were clumped underneath the awnings, talking and yelling loudly. Sam turned away and put his head down on his desk. Junior English was supposed to be an easy A. He wasn’t so sure now. The bell rang and he waited a second, letting the other kids file out before he got up to go. He shoved the paper with Gabriel’s number into his pocket, gathered up his library book and trudged out into the hallway.

Sam always had to wait for Dean to get done with basketball practice after school, so he pushed through the wave of kids to the school library. It was always empty and quiet after school, and Sam loved every minute of it. Today, however, he could feel the tear in the cover beneath his fingers and he dragged his feet. He pulled open the door and made a split-second decision. He would wait to tell the librarian. He didn’t have to return it for another week, so hopefully by then he’d find the money somewhere. He stashed the book in his bag before claiming a wooden table in the back. It was his favorite because he could see anyone who came in, but they usually couldn't see him. Plus, the librarian watched everyone like a hawk, and at this table Sam couldn’t feel her eyes as much.  He pulled a piece of paper out of his backpack, planning on using it to brainstorm for the English assignment, but he couldn’t think of anything. Instead, he got up and found the poetry section of the library, running his fingers along the spines. He could smell the dust and paper, and the carpet softer here because of the lack of traffic. The red walls made the wooden bookcases feel homey and warm.

He picked out a few classic poets --Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Plath -- and brought them back to his table. He didn’t have much to go on, so he just flipped through, randomly stopping to read some of the poems, but nothing stood out. Honestly, he didn’t know much about Gabriel. Just that he liked to tell jokes, made nicknames for everyone, played basketball with Dean, and was homecoming king. Not much to go on at all. He doubted Shakespeare wrote about class clowns in his sonnets. Sighing, Sam closed the book and dug Gabriel’s number out of his pocket. He stared down at the phone number, startled by the winky face scribbled next to it. He let out a laugh and quickly glanced around for the librarian. Coast clear, he typed the number into his phone slowly and wrote out a text.

‘Hi, it’s Sam. This Sunday work for you?’ He hit send. He knew Gabriel was at practice so he wouldn’t get it for a while, but this way he wouldn’t be worrying over that anymore. The faster they met, the faster they didn’t have to talk anymore. Now, he just needed to figure out a few deeper questions. He pushed away the stack of books and pulled the sheet of paper closer. What did he want to know about Gabriel?


	2. Chapter 2

Back at home, Sam dropped his backpack onto his bedroom floor and flopped onto his unmade bed. His walls were navy blue, and not much furniture decorated his room. Just a bed and a desk against the far wall, a large window, and a reading chair underneath it. He had come up with a few questions for the project at the library, but still hadn’t gotten a response from Gabriel. The boy was probably out, it being a Friday night and all. Sam could hear Dean stomping around his room next door, probably going out too. Great. That meant Sam had no car and no dinner. He’d have to scrounge something up from the refrigerator, or maybe walk to the diner down the road. His empty wallet argued against that idea. He just lay still for a few minutes, closing his eyes and slinging his arm over his face.

He jerked awake to his phone chiming from somewhere across the room. Sam dragged a hand down his face, trying to wipe the exhaustion away. Around him the house was silent. His dad must have had the night shift at the warehouse today. Sam’s stomach growled as he rolled himself off his bed and rummaged through his backpack for his phone.  He found it at the bottom and pulled it out. Gabriel’s name lit up his screen, and the light blinded him as he opened the text.

‘Sure Sammy Sunday works. Meet at The Diner at 11?’

Sam texted back a yes and shut his phone. He didn’t think he’d be getting back to sleep again. His stomach growled painfully, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since noon and it was now midnight.  Sam walked downstairs and into the kitchen, the tile cold on his feet. Upstairs his phone chimed again. He opened the fridge, but only a half full gallon of milk and some leftover pizza adorned the shelves. Groaning, he went back upstairs and quietly opened the door to Dean’s room. For some reason, he felt like he needed to be quiet, even though no one was home. Inside, the room was a pigsty. Clothes were flung everywhere; the white sheets were on the floor. Sam found the nearest pair of pants and searched the pockets. Dean would hardly notice a few dollars gone, and Sam would be sure to tell him tomorrow. Dean would understand; he usually did. Sam found a few dollars and some change and went back to his room, being sure to shut Dean’s door . He threw on a pair of tattered running shoes and took off out the front door, scribbling a quick note in case someone came home.

Outside, the Arizona heat had cooled down so the air was comfortably warm. Sam was alone on the street; the only sound his footsteps and the highway behind his house. The cars zooming were soothing, though, and Sam felt better already. The streetlights rained yellow light down on the sidewalk as Sam walked on. The Diner was only a few blocks away, but Sam felt like taking his time tonight. He loved Arizona. The dry heat, the clear skies... it was always refreshing. He’d never lived in a place like it, and growing up, he moved around a lot whenever his dad lost a job or just got stir-crazy. This time, though, it seemed to have stuck, and he was happier for it. Suddenly remembering his phone, he pulled it out of his pocket to see Gabriel’s name again.

‘I look forward to it ;)’ Sam rolled his eyes. Gabriel would flirt with everyone, but Sam found himself smiling at his phone nonetheless. His fingers hovered over his keyboard, but he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he shoved his phone back in his pocket and pulled the door to The Diner open. The bell chimed and Ellen looked up as he walked up to the counter. A group of teenagers sat in the corner booth, Sam could hear them laughing, and one older man sat at the counter eating a cheeseburger. Sam really wanted one of those, a cheeseburger, fries, a milkshake. But, he only had a few dollars.

Ellen broke his gaze and she asked, “What can I get you, sugar?”

“Just a small order of fries, please,” Sam replied.

She hesitated, glancing at the man’s plate, before nodding and heading back to the kitchen. His phone chimed again and Sam dug his phone out, resting his elbows on the polished white marble counter.

‘So, what’s up Samoose?’ Gabriel texted. Sam was confused.

‘Um…nothing.’ Sam texted back.

‘I figured we’d start getting to know each other now, what are you really doing?’Sam relaxed. It was just for the project. Sam had figured he was out at a party or something, but whatever.

‘I’m at The Diner, you?’

If Gabriel responded, Sam didn’t know. Ellen had set down a huge plate with a greasy bacon cheeseburger, fries, and sure enough, a chocolate milkshake. His favorite.

“But Ellen, I can’t,” Sam started.

“Hush, it’s on the house,” Ellen cut him off, winking before walking away. Sam flushed with embarrassment. The smell of the burger was making him drool, though, so he dug in. He’d have to pay Ellen back somehow. Honestly, he really needed a job, but with no car it would have to be somewhere close. He’d look into it tomorrow. As he ate, he looked around the Diner. It was all plastic seats and chrome detail. Pictures of Elvis were hanging everywhere. He finished his meal quickly, and Ellen gave him a milkshake to go for his walk.

At home again, nothing had changed. Neither his father nor Dean had come home. Sam went upstairs, changed into a t-shirt to sleep in and fell into bed again.

* * *

 

Saturday came and went and Sam spent all of it doing his other homework and reading his library book. He still hadn’t figured out a way to get any money, but he’d have to talk to the librarian as soon as possible. Sunday morning, Sam woke up way too early with nothing to do. He yanked on some sneakers and a pair of basketball shorts and ran down his street. The air was fresh and silent around him, with only a few cars passing by. His favorite times were when all he could hear was his own breathing and heartbeat. It was calming. He ran until his legs turned to jelly and the sky turned blue before going back home. Dean would most likely still be asleep. He shut the door quietly behind him and tip-toed upstairs to shower off the sweat.

After he finished, he threw on a t-shirt and some jeans and texted Gabriel to make sure they were still meeting at eleven. He got an affirmative, another winky face, and yet another nickname -- Samsquatch this time. Rolling his eyes, he packed up his backpack and left early to account for the walk. On the counter was a ten dollar bill and a note from their dad. It read ‘Won’t be home for dinner’. Sam guessed he picked up another shift at work. He hesitated before pocketing the money just in case. He wrote out his own note for Dean and locked the door behind him.

The bell tinkled as he walked in, and he paused in the doorway. He hadn’t scanned the busy diner before someone yelled his name from across the restaurant.  Sitting at a booth was a smiling Gabriel dressed in a black t-shirt and tan cargo shorts, flip-flopped feet crossed underneath him. Sam shot a small smile back and slid across from him, noticing this close that Gabriel had dimples.

“Heya, Sammy. How’d you sleep?”

“Fine, Gabriel. You?” Sam replied.

“Just great,” he responded, but Sam thought he sounded a little too chipper, like it was fake. “So, listen. I ordered us some fries already, but I didn’t know what kind of milkshake you usually get so I got one vanilla and one chocolate and you can choose, okay? My treat!” He flashed his dimples again.

“No, I’ll pay my share,”Sam started to protest, but Gabriel waved him off.

“No, I still feel bad for ripping your book, so please let me?” Gabriel looked so sincere, so different than he was at school, and Sam just nodded.

“All right, so do you wanna do the interview first and then our individual questions?”

“Sure,” Sam replied as the waitress set down the plate of fries and the milkshakes. Sam instinctively reached for the chocolate before freezing. Gabriel chuckled and pushed it closer to him and grabbed the vanilla for himself, sucking the straw noisily before dragging the back of his hand across his mouth

“Okay, let’s get started.” They went though the interview quite quickly, elaborating here and there for things like family or career goals, but most were cut-and-dry. Their individual questions turned out to be similar, going a little deeper into likes, dislikes, stuff about relationships. Gabriel’s turned out to be pretty well thought-out, which surprised Sam.

“Alright, Sammy. This is the most important question of the day. I purposely saved it for last. Ready?”

Sam smirked and nodded. “Ready, Gabriel.”

“Okay, first, everyone calls me Gabe, so you’re more than welcome to do so. Second, the most important question. Drum roll please,” he mimed a drum roll on the table before finally continuing, “cats or dogs?”

Sam burst out laughing. He laughed until he couldn’t breathe, until his stomach ached. That was the important question?  When he caught his breath, he looked up to see Gabriel looking at him funny, his eyes crinkling at the edges. The sunlight from the window beside them was hitting Gabriel just right, and his eyes looked like sunshine. Sam’s breath hitched. His lungs must still be struggling after laughing so hard.

“That was your important question?”  Gabriel nodded earnestly, a playful look on his face. “All right, I’m going to go with cats? I’ve never actually had either one as a pet, so I can’t be sure, but that’s what I’m thinking.”

Gabriel gasped, practically falling out of the booth. “You’ve never had a pet? I have like five of each. You’re coming over right now.”

Gabriel tossed a twenty down on the table, leaving at least ten dollars for a tip, a concept foreign to Sam. He usually only had enough for a dollar or two. Gabriel’s hand clamped over his wrist, and he tugged Sam out of the restaurant. Sam called out a goodbye to Ellen and let himself be pulled from the diner.

Gabriel chatted about his pets the whole way there, telling different stories about each. Soon enough they were parked in the driveway of a pristine white, three-story house. Sam guessed it was at least double the size of his. The front yard was trimmed and the rose bushes were actually growing, a rarity for this heat. Sam looked down at his torn sneakers and was instantly self-conscious. Before he could protest, though, Gabriel was yanking him out of the car, reaching around and unbuckling his seatbelt for him. Sam laughed at his enthusiasm and follow Gabriel inside, kicking his shoes off at the door. Chandeliers hung from the front room, but the house didn’t feel stiff. It was decorated with family pictures and knick knacks. It felt lived in. This was something Sam never had. They’d been in his house for over a year, and it was still bare bones.

“Come on!” Gabriel interrupted his gawking and pulled him up the cream carpeted stairs to the second floor. “This is usually where the cats hang out.”

True to his word, an orange cat shot out from one of the doorways and froze when it saw them standing there. Sam didn’t know what to do. Gabriel, on the other hand dropped onto all fours, and crawled towards the cat, which gave him a head butt and started purring instantly. Sam wasn’t surprised; Gabriel seemed to have that effect on a lot of people.

“Get down here, Sammy,” Gabriel said, and this time, he sounded so happy that the nickname didn’t even bother Sam. He approached slowly, sitting cross-legged next to the duo, then reached out his hand. The cat instantly approached him, rubbing its face into his hand. Sam was surprised by how trusting it was. He petted it for awhile until Gabriel tugged him back up.

“Okay, dogs now,” he said and pulled Sam down the stairs and out the glass back door. Gabriel left handprints on the clean glass, and Sam flinched. He had a strong urge to clean it. He was instantly assaulted by a bunch of wagging tails, though, and quickly forgot about the mess. He reached down into the mass and petted a few of them before getting on his knees. He was met with wet kisses, but he didn’t mind at all. One dog with golden shaggy hair sat off to the side quietly, and Sam fell in love. He approached slowly and rubbed its ears. The dog rolled onto its back, asking for a belly-rub, and Sam obliged.  It was official. He was a dog person. He looked up to say just that and found Gabriel watching him from a lawn chair on the patio, one of the cats curled into his lap, smiling.

“I think I’m officially a dog person,” Sam said.

“Then we simply can’t be friends,” Gabriel said, chuckling. Gabriel let him play with the dogs a little while longer before they went back in for a drink of water.

“Where is everyone? I thought you had a ton of siblings and stuff?”Sam asked.

Gabriel laughed before saying, “You want a list? Castiel’s probably at the library, Anna’s at her boyfriend's, Dad’s working, Mom’s antique hunting, shall I keep going?”

Sam laughed and shook his head. It sounded great to have all that activity going on. They made small talk before Gabriel offered to drive Sam home. He sheepishly accepted, offering some gas money, but Gabriel waved it off. At the curb, both boys paused.

“Thanks, Gabriel. I had more fun than I thought. Want to just meet next Sunday again?”

Gabriel beamed and nodded, saluting Sam as he shut the car door and walked up to his door. Sam didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stop smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam was shaking as he walked into the library Monday after school, ripped book in his hands and $13 in his pocket. He approached the librarian and waited until she looked up from her computer. She was small and skinny, with beady eyes that were always staring everyone down. Ms. Rosen. It was rumored that she wrote fan fiction for some book series while at work, but no one was ever allowed to go behind the counter. Sam cleared his throat, and she jumped, giggling with a slight lisp. Sam explained the whole situation and sat patiently through a lecture before she told him how much the library would charge his school account. Thirty dollars seemed kinda high, but Sam didn’t argue.           

“Is there any way I could pay in increments or work off the debt somehow?  It’s just I only have $13.00 and I don’t want to trouble my dad,”Sam whispered, face flaming.

She was completely understanding and Sam now worked after school in the library until basketball practice was over. At least barely anyone would know. Sam spent the rest of the week re-shelving books and filing random paperwork until Dean fetched him from the library and they went home. The nice thing about being in the library was being able to read anytime he wanted, and he’d started bookmarking poems for Sunday.

The week flew by, and before he knew it he was waking early on Sunday morning again. He’d have to ask Gabriel to meet earlier from now on. For today, he went running once again, and walked to The Diner afterwards. This time he arrived first and picked a booth in the back, pulling out his books of poetry and flipping through them. The bell twinkled, but Sam was lost in a poem. It was funny, and something different than all the others he had read so far.

“Whatcha reading, Sammich?” Gabriel asked, leaning over the table to see.

“So get this,” Sam said, and started reading the poem out loud.

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.

For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.

For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.

For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.

For this he performs in ten degrees.

For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.

For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.

For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.

For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.

For fifthly he washes himself.

For sixthly he rolls upon wash.

For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.

For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.

For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.

For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having considered God and himself he will consider his neighbor.

For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.

For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.

For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.

For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.

For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.

For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.

For he will not do destruction if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he purrs in thankfulness when God tells him he’s a good Cat.

For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.

For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.

For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel

from Egypt.

For every family had one cat at least in the bag.

For the English Cats are the best in Europe.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.

For the dexterity of his defense is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.

For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.

For he is tenacious of his point.

For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

For he knows that God is his Saviour.

For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.

For he is of the Lord’s poor, and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually--Poor Jeoffry!

poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.

For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.

For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.

For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.

For he is docile and can learn certain things.

For he can sit up with gravity, which is patience upon approbation.

For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.

For he can jump over a stick, which is patience upon proof positive.

For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.

For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.

For he can catch the cork and toss it again.

For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.

For the former is afraid of detection.

For the latter refuses the charge.

For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.

For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.

For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.

For he killed the Icneumon rat, very pernicious by land.

For his ears are so acute that they sting again.

For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.

For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.

For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.

For the electrical fire is the spiritual substance which God sends from heaven to sustain the

bodies both of man and beast.

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.

For, though he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.

For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.

For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.

For he can swim for life.

For he can creep.

 

Sam paused, goose-bumps covering his body before he continued. “It’s called ‘For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry’, by Christopher Smart.”

Gabriel chuckled and said, “I like it. It's really funny.”

He picked up another book, and they spent the rest of the time munching on French fries and reading different poems out to each other. Sam used the last of his cash to pay this time, vowing to tell Dean about the few dollars he took later that day. He still hadn’t told Dean he was working after school. Dean just thought he was reading or whatever. Dean already felt a lot of guilt that Sam couldn’t have everything he wanted, and Sam didn’t want to make that worse. Dean was finally happy, playing basketball and hanging out with real friends.

When they were done, Sam stayed behind chatting with Ellen until Gabriel left, then started walking home. He had only made it a block before a car pulled up beside him, and he recognized it as Gabriel’s.

“Sammyboy, what are you doing walking? I could’ve driven you home! Anyways, I came back to see if you wanted to get together sooner than next Sunday? Get in!”

Sam reluctantly climbed in the passenger seat, folding his long legs into the small foot-space. “You could’ve just texted me you know,” Sam said, rolling his eyes.

“I know,” Gabriel replied and left it at that. They fell into a comfortable silence and pulled up to Sam’s house quickly. Sam reached for the handle, but Gabriel grabbed his arm. Sam could feel the warmth of his palm.

“Wait, do you wanna maybe go do something? Movie, whatever?” The whole time, he didn’t meet Sam’s eyes.

“I would, but I’m short on cash and I have homework in Calculus and --”

“My treat,”Gabriel interrupted, and Sam paused. “Please, Sam? I don’t really want to go home.”

Sam thought he heard his voice waver and he gave in. “Fine, but nowhere expensive. Do you want to just come inside?”

“Sure, Sammy, if your family doesn't mind. ”

"Nah, no one’s home usually. It's fine.”

They got out and marched up to the front door, and Sam held it open for Gabriel. Gabriel kicked off his shoes by the door and looked around, and suddenly Sam remembered why he never brought anyone over. The walls were all bare and cream-colored, and the floors were hard-wood and in need of a little cleaning. The walls only had one picture of him (his brother and his dad on the day they moved in) and a photo of his mother on the side-table next to the sofa. If Gabriel found it odd, he didn’t mention it, and Sam opened the fridge to see what he could offer. It turned out to be sour cream or a single bottle of water.

“Do you want a water?” Sam asked.

Gabriel looked over, pausing a second before shaking his head. “No thanks.”

Sam was relieved, his dad would be pissed if he came home and didn’t have something to drink. He was sober now, for the first time since his mom died, but Sam didn’t want to give him any excuse to go out after work. He shut the fridge and scratched the back of his neck.

“We don’t really have much to do. We can go upstairs to my room to watch a movie on my computer or something?”

Gabriel nodded and bowed, his hand extended, and flashed a grin at Sam. Sam chuckled and led the way, trying to remember if he cleaned this morning after his run. The answer was yes, thank God, and Gabriel flopped down onto Sam’s bed and sprawled out like a starfish.

“Read to me, Sammyboy,” Gabriel mumbled into the comforter.

“Seriously?” Sam asked, already walking to his bookcase to pick something out. Nothing there looked good. “What do you want to hear?”

“Read me that poem from The Diner, the cat one.”

Sam pulled that book out of his backpack, then sat on the hard-wood and opened to the bookmarked page. He cleared his throat and climbed onto the bed, his back against the wall. Gabriel flipped over and laid his feet over Sam’s knees, their bodies forming a T. Sam read quieter this time, slower, getting chills again. For some reason this poem felt special. Like it was just his and Gabriel’s. But that didn’t make any sense, because they weren’t anything but partners for a project.

At the end of the poem, he looked up to find a snoring Gabriel pinning him to the bed.  He sighed, shaking his head, and pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed around Gabriel. Then he went back to reading. He made it half-way through the book before he dozed off too.

* * *

Sam was drooling when he blinked awake, and his legs were asleep. Outside the sky was dark, and moonlight glinted on his computer screen. He gently shook Gabriel until he jolted upwards, mumbling about five more minutes.

“Oh, heya Sammy. Sorry, I musta fell asleep,” Gabriel slurred, rubbing his eyes.

“’S okay, I did too. You looked like you needed it,” Sam said, hoping he hadn’t crossed any lines.

“Thanks, Samoose,” Golden eyes met green and Gabriel shot Sam a smile as he rolled off the bed and stretched. When he lifted his arms over his shoulders, a sliver of his smooth, slightly pudgy stomach was exposed, and Sam averted his eyes. Gabriel was attractive, even more so now that Sam knew him, but he didn’t know what Gabriel’s deal was.

“I better take off. Thanks again, Sammy. I’ll text you later,” Gabriel said, walking out. Sam followed and waved from the front door. He climbed back into bed once upstairs again, exhaustion seeping in when his phone chimed. Gabriel had texted him. He opened it while falling asleep.

‘Goodnight, Sammich’

Sam fell asleep smiling. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sam was walking through the hallway after school on Tuesday, pushing through the masses to get to the library, when he got the text.

‘I got a question for you Sammyboy - is there somewhere we could meet?’

‘Don’t you have practice?’ Sam texted back.

A second later his phone buzzed. ‘Yeah, but it’s important.'

‘Alright, I’ll head to the gym’ Sam replied. He stopped in the library to let Ms. Rosen know he was going to be a little late and took off across the courtyard and through the glass  doors. Gabriel wasn’t there yet, so he sat a row up in the wooden bleachers and waited.  A minute or so later, Gabriel burst through the doors from the locker room so hard they slammed into the scuffed brick wall, but Sam hardly noticed. Gabriel was smiling as he walked over, and all the air in Sam's lungs seemed to disappear.

“Heya. Um, so listen,” Gabriel started as he plopped down next to Sam on the bleachers. “My family is cooking on Thursday and I was wondering if you might wanna come? It's cool if you say no, but I really want you to meet them since we’re like friends now and stuff. But I mean if you’re busy, that's like no big deal--"

Sam cut off his rambling with a chuckle. “I’d love to come, what time?”

“Really?” Gabriel beamed and Sam’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe he found Gabriel to be a little more than just attractive. “Um, we usually eat around 6, so I’ll pick you up at 5:30? Or I could just take you with me after practice since you’re here?”

“Sure, I’d love to." Sam grinned.

“Awesome!” Gabriel said, smooching a kiss on Sam’s cheek before skipping back across the gym floor and into the locker-rooms. Sam sat frozen, touching his cheek for a few minutes before it even registered.  Did Gabriel just…kiss him? No, it was just friendly. He was happy. Gabriel had always been a little more hands-on than other friends of Sam’s, and that was obviously just his personality.  He went back to work in a daze.

Actually, he spent the rest of the week in a daze until Thursday, when he started to panic. What should he wear? Button-down and jeans, t-shirt, slacks? How formal was this going to be? He knocked on Dean’s door. He’d know what to do.

“Come in,” Dean called out from his desk. His room was pretty much the same as Sam’s. It just had more pictures of friends and girls and quite a few with a blue-eyed boy Sam had seen, but never met.  Dean swiveled around and waited, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”

“Um, so I’m going to Gabriel’s for dinner tonight and, actually never mind,” Sam started to rush out of the room, embarrassed to be putting this much thought into it. It was just dinner, for God’s sake.

“Whoa there, Sammy, obviously somethin’s bothering you. What’s up?”

“I don’t know what to wear, Dean. I’m meeting his family for the first time, and...you know," he trailed off, not sure what else to say. Dean scrutinized him for a second before leading the way back to Sam’s closet. He flipped through some of the clothes, pulling out a few shirts and tossing them on the bed.

“Okay, we're gonna go with something simple. A nice polo, dark jeans and you’re good to go. I’d either go with black or blue for the shirt,” Dean said, shoving them into Sam’s arms. “This way, you look dressed up, but not over-the-top. Oh, and you can wear it to school without any funny looks.”

Dean started walking out before he paused in Sam’s doorway.

“You really like him, huh?” It wasn’t really a question. Sam froze, not sure what to say. Dean grinned at him. “As long as you’re happy, Sammy, I don’t care who it is.”

Sam sagged with relief. “He doesn’t even like me, Dean.”

“I’m not so sure that’s true.”

“Yeah, it is, but thanks anyways.”

“Want me to kick his ass, then?” Laughing, Sam shoved Dean out his door.

“I think I can handle it myself. But seriously, thanks Dean.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re lucky to have me. Now, hurry up, we’re gonna be late, bitch.”

“Jerk.” Sam laughed, feeling relieved. He changed quickly, running a brush through his hair for the first time in a long time, and rushed downstairs.

In the car, Dean turned down the music and Sam looked over at him.

“I know,” Dean said, “I know about the library. You shoulda told me, Sammy. I woulda loaned you the money or something.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you, Dean. It’s fine. I kinda like working there.”

“God, Sammy, you’re such a nerd. Just tell me next time.” He turned up the music, but not before adding, “Oh, and I know about the money you took from my jeans too. You owe me, geek.”

But he was laughing, and Sam knew he didn’t really mean it.

* * *

 

The rest of the day went by quickly, and he told Gabriel to get him from the library when they were done with practice. He’d started to sit by Sam during English instead of his other friends, and Sam tried not to read too much into it. Not when he’d lean close to Sam’s ear and whisper some joke or random thought, not even when once he got too close and ended up half kissing the side of Sam’s head, practically mashing their faces together. Especially not when he’d turn around, golden eyes and dimples glowing, to say something.

After the bell, they left class, and Sam wasn’t sure if he was nervous or excited. The whole time he was at at work, he went over conversation after conversation in his head, planning out what to talk about so it wouldn't be so awkward. As his impending doom neared, he was increasingly sure he was going to throw up, so he sat down at one of the tables and put his head down.

Of course, Gabriel chose that moment to walk in.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sam jerked up when a hand attached to a freshly showered Gabriel landed on his shoulder.

“Yeah, fine. Let me get my stuff." Sam grabbed his backpack from behind the counter. If Gabriel thought it weird, he didn’t mention it. They chatted about random things on the way to the car, arguing over who got to pick the music, and before Sam could blink, they were there. He let out a shaky breath and Gabriel paused after turning the car off.

“They’re gonna love you, Sammy. I know they will.”

He smiled at Gabriel, and they got out of the car and walked up to the door. When Gabriel opened the door, all of Sam’s senses were assaulted. Streamers hung from the staircase, and music was blasting from somewhere. Two dogs were chasing a cat up the stairs. The smell of grilling food seeped in from the open back door, and vanilla attacked his nose from the doorway to the kitchen.  Gabriel tugged Sam into the kitchen where a tall, black-haired lady stood stirring something while taking cupcakes out of the oven.

“Hi momma." Gabriel kissed his mother on the cheek. “This is Sammy. Sam this is my mother, Pamela.”

“You can call me Pam,” she said, and stuck out her hand.

“And please, call me Sam,” he said, surprised by her firm handshake. “Do you need any help?”

“How about you keep this trouble-making birthday boy out of my hair so I can finish cooking?” She slapped Gabriel’s hand away from the bowl of frosting on the counter. Sam frowned. Birthday boy? Gabriel didn’t seem to notice. He grabbed Sam’s hand and tugged him out of the room, dancing away from his mother’s swatting hand.

“You have to try some of this,” Gabriel said, holding out his finger covered in frosting.

Sam started to ask him what she meant by birthday, but Gabriel had already swiped his finger across Sam’s bottom lip, leaving him weak in the knees. Gabriel watched him as he licked the frosting off slowly. It was pretty good.

“Who’s this?” A quiet man’s voice broke into the moment. Sam looked up to see a bearded man leaning against the door jam leading to the backyard.

“Dad, this is Sammy. Sammy, this is my dad, Chuck.”

Just like before, Sam told him to call him Sam and shook his hand. He was a lot less intimidating than his wife, and Sam was instantly comfortable around him.

“Gabriel’s told me a lot about you--” Chuck said, but Gabriel cut off the rest of his sentence by pulling Sam upstairs and into a bedroom on the third floor. It was painted light blue and hopelessly cluttered. Books scattered everywhere, pictures of friends, a Rubix cube. One small black cat was curled on a reading chair next to a bookcase stretching from floor to ceiling, every free inch of space crammed with books. Sam walked over and ran his fingertips over the titles.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?” Sam asked Gabriel, who had picked up the cat and was sitting on the chair with it on his lap.

“I didn’t want you to think you had to come. I wanted you to come because you wanted to,” Gabriel said quietly.

“But I didn’t get you anything, not even a card,” Sam said uncomfortably.

“You being here is enough, Sammy, honest. Now, what are you going to read me this time?”

Sam laughed and picked out the book that looked the most read. Its pages were worn and ripped here and there. The title read _A Monster Calls_ by Patrick Ness.

Sam sat down on Gabriel’s bed and opened to the first page. He was hit with the smell of sunshine, exactly like Gabriel. He breathed in deeply, then started reading. He got about halfway through the book when someone called up to them that dinner was ready. He marked his page and pulled Gabriel up from where he was lying on the floor. Together they made their way down the stairs.

The dining room was a deep red, and its dark wood was covered in a white lacy table cloth.  Sam sat next to Gabriel and Anna, a fiery red-head with the same sassy personality as her mother.  Across the table sat the blue-eyed boy with whom Dean had so many pictures. Sam found out his name was Castiel.

“You know Dean, right? He has some pictures of you two together in his room,”Sam said.

Castiel blushed and just nodded, smiling into his dinner plate.

Dinner was a nice, warm, home-cooked meal of mashed potatoes and burgers. Everything was cheerful, and Sam fit right in. It was the first time he’d sat at a table for a family meal in a long time.  He found himself laughing at the family’s jokes.

Then everyone was singing, belting really, a loud happy birthday as Pam brought out an obviously homemade cake. Gabriel blew out his candles and they passed cake around. This time everyone scattered, some staying in the dining room and some going for the couch in the living room. Gabriel grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled him out onto the back porch where a swing sat under an archway. It was covered in latticework and a few flowering bushes grew up the side. They sank down onto the cushions, Sam with his legs stretched out and Gabriel criss-crossed.  Gabriel hadn’t let go of Sam’s hand.

Sam’s heart beat in his ears, and his hand felt electric. A song started playing, soft and slow. Gabriel set his plate down and tugged Sam up.

“Dance with me Sammyboy -- for my birthday?” Gabriel whispered, pulling Sam close without waiting for an answer. They danced barefoot on the grassy lawn, Sam towering over Gabriel from this position. They danced first far apart, but their bodies pressed closer and closer until they were flush from chest to groin. Sam tried to push his thoughts elsewhere, to think about something other than wanting to lift Gabriel up and press even closer. He tried, but then Gabriel looked up at him with a grin and his eyes glowed in the moonlight. Sam could feel electricity shoot down his spine where Gabriel's hand rested heavily, and he couldn’t look away. He didn’t know how long they stood there, but someone eventually coughed. When Sam jumped away, Gabriel kept hold of his hand.

Pamela was grinning at them from the doorway, but Gabriel barely looked twice. The song had changed to something upbeat, and Gabriel tried to spin Sam, but he was too short. Gabriel ended up hitting the side of Sam's head  and the boys dissolved into laughter.  Sam took over the twirling and spun Gabriel around.  Pam cut in and started dancing with Sam.

Anna danced with Gabriel, and soon everyone filtered out. The music got louder, and Sam and Gabriel danced until exhaustion took over and they fell onto the grass. They began stargazing underneath the lamplight. Gabriel rested his head on Sam’s shoulder, and Sam was too happy to move away. 

“Aright, it’s a school night and you’ve kept Sam out much too late,” Pam said, pulling the rest of her children into the house. Gabriel groaned, but stood up with Sam, and they gathered their shoes together. Sam helped clean up the backyard, tossing out paper plates and empty cups before they took off.

“It was really nice to meet you, Sam,” Pam said, a funny look on her face.

Sam thanked her for the meal and invitation, and Gabriel led the way out the door.

As they drove under the streetlights, Sam studied Gabriel’s profile. He still had a smile on his face, his dimples showing. He was singing softly to a song on the radio while driving. Sam’s breath caught in his throat.

“What?” Gabriel asked, laughing. “Do I have frosting on my face?”

He rubbed his hand across his mouth and frowned after examining it.

“What? Why are you staring at me?” Gabriel asked, eyes shining.

“Nothing,” Sam said, but smiled to reassure him.

Gabriel shrugged. “Distracted by my beauty then, Sammich?”

Sam flinched, and Gabriel's smile fell slowly.

“Just joking Sammyboy,” he said, and Sam forced a small laugh.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Gabriel spoke again.

“Thank you for coming, Sam.”Gabriel said, parking outside Sam’s door.

Sam brushed it away, laughing, but Gabriel grabbed his hand.

“I mean it Sam, thank you. I don’t bring people home often, and I’m glad you came. This was one of my best birthdays, so thank you. Really." Gabriel stared into Sam’s eyes.

Just like when they were dancing, they gravitated toward each other, leaning closer and closer.

“Sam, you comin’ inside or what?” His father knocked on the window to the car and the boys jumped apart. Sam mumbled a goodbye and fled the car quickly, then walked inside with his father, wondering if he’d seen.

“So, when do I get to meet the boy?” his father asked. Sam’s surprise must have shown on his face.

“I don’t care who it is, as long as you’re happy. Bring him to dinner on Monday. I’ll take the night off and we can go out somewhere.”

“Dad, no. You’ve been working so hard and we need the money for the house,” Sam protested.

“Sam, I insist. I have a little extra and I want to do it. I know you don’t get a lot of what you want, but I can give you this.”

Sam nodded, thanking his dad as he walked upstairs. Outside the window, Gabriel’s car was still there. Sam got ready for bed, but he was still wide awake, and he texted Gabriel to see if he was still awake. His phone started ringing barely a minute later.

“Heya, Sammy,” Gabriel whispered.

“Hey,”Sam whispered back.

“I can’t sleep. Tell me a story?”

“What do you want to hear?”Sam asked.

“Something you’ve never told anyone. Something just for us.”

Sam paused, thinking for a moment before he whispered back, “I don’t know what to say," feeling silly.

“Come on, please?”

Sam sighed and started whispering. He told the story of the night when a fire raged into the darkness of his bedroom. He whispered about his dad losing it, falling into drinking, being raised by Dean, everything. The time he and Dean watched the fireworks, all their shitty Christmases, every moment good and bad. He didn’t feel the tears slowly dripping down his face. He just kept talking.

“’S okay, Sammy, ‘s okay,” Gabriel whispered when Sam had finished. They were both quiet for a while, but neither hung up. Sam could hear Gabriel’s breathing get slower and slower on the other end. He fell asleep listening to that sound.


	5. Chapter 5

It was Wednesday. Sam had just walked into the library when Ms. Rosen looked at him funny. He brushed it off and set to shelving books, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“You know you don’t have to work anymore now that you've paid your debt, right?”

“What? I thought we agreed on working all semester. It’s only been a few weeks,” Sam said, brow furrowed.

“No, it says you paid it off yesterday in the bookstore, so you’re free to go.”

Sam mumbled a reply and gathered his stuff, but his thoughts were racing. He looked around in the hallway, not sure where to go. He decided to walk to the gym and try to catch Dean before practice started if he could.

He got there too late, though. When he walked in the team was running drills and the coach blowing his whistle as they flew across the court. Sam climbed to the top of the bleachers, wincing at the echo of his footsteps. He sprawled out on the bench and put some earbuds in to block out the squeaking of the boys’ shoes against the hardwood floor. He chose some classical music and pulled a poetry book out of his backpack to keep working on the project. He only had two weeks until their rough drafts were due, and he had no ideas. He flipped through a few pages and dog-eared one or two to read to Gabriel before he sighed and gave up. Nothing felt right to him. He put the book down on his chest and looked down at the court.

Gabriel was already looking up at Sam, and he smiled and waved before taking off, the ball in his hands pounding against the floor. He was a lot faster than Sam thought he would be, his legs whirling as he sprinted. He looked almost like he was flying. Gabriel’s eyes were shining and alert, glowing practically. He passed the ball to Dean, who sank the three-pointer, and both Gabriel and Dean broke out into cheers. Even from the bleachers, Sam could see Gabriel’s dimples. Gabriel looked up at Sam again, still smiling, and Sam couldn’t help but smile back.

The coach blew his whistle, shrill enough to break through Sam’s music, and the team had a short meeting before they broke into two teams. Sam watched disinterestedly until Gabriel started to tug his practice jersey out from his black athletic shorts and over his head. Then Sam got a little more interested. Gabriel was pale under his shirt and slightly muscled despite a little stomach fat. His shorts rode low on his hips, and Sam’s mouth went dry. He couldn’t look away.

Their game started and Sam watched as the muscles in Gabriel’s back flexed and moved, how his biceps moved when he dribbled down the court. By the end, Gabriel was sweating, his face red. He was breathing heavily and Sam didn’t think he’d ever seen something more beautiful. He just wanted to snuggle the boy, nap with him, and hold his hand. It wasn’t just attraction anymore, and Sam was in big trouble.

The coach gathered the boys around him for a minute, and then they all scattered. Dean went into the locker room, gesturing to Sam to meet at the car, so Sam gathered his stuff. When he turned around, Gabriel was standing there.

“Heya, Samoose,” Gabriel said, pulling on a t-shirt.

“Hey, Gabriel,” Sam said, trying not to stare at the sliver of skin that was showing where Gabriel hadn’t quite pulled his shirt down enough.

“You don’t normally watch us practice. Is there something wrong?”

“No. Why, do you not want me to?” Sam asked, suddenly realizing that maybe Gabriel had been staring at him so he would leave.

“No, you should come more often, Sammy. I like it when you’re here.”

Gabriel ducked his head, but his cheeks looked pink.

“Did ya want to maybe hang out today? We can get a bite or somethin’?”Gabriel asked.

“Sure, but I’ve got to talk to Dean first. Meet in the parking lot?”

They agreed and Sam thumped down the stairs behind Gabriel.

* * *

 

Sam caught Dean outside the locker room and pulled him off to the side.

“Hey, did you pay off my debt in the library?” Sam asked.

Dean frowned and shook his head. “No, why?”

Sam told Dean about that afternoon, and Dean’s frown got deeper.

“Did you tell anyone about it? Dad or anyone?” Sam asked.

“I don’t think so, man. Whatever, now you don’t have to work, so who cares? Let’s go home.”

“Actually I’m hanging out with Gabriel, so I’ll be home later, okay?”

“Sure, Sammy, see you later.” Dean smirked before turning around and taking off down the hallway, his footsteps echoing with every step.

Sam waited a second before heading out to the parking lot, still trying to figure out who had paid his fees. The only person he'd told was Dean, so there was no way it was anyone else unless Dean had told someone. Gabriel was leaning up against his car and beaming when Sam flung open the glass door, and Sam smiled back.

“Hey _Jake Ryan_ , ready to go?” Sam teased.

“Sure thing, _Samantha_ ,” Gabriel replied. Sam laughed at that. It just worked too perfectly. . Sam climbed in the passenger seat and threw his backpack into the back seat.

“All right, where to?” Gabriel asked.

“I don’t care,” Sam replied, shrugging.

“Well I don’t have any ideas,”Gabriel said, chuckling.

They sat in silence until the parking lot cleared out around them. The sun reflected off of the school's glass front doors as it set.

“Food sound okay?” Gabriel asked, looking over at Sam.

“I could eat,” Sam replied.

“Alright, where?”

Sam shrugged, his empty pockets weighing heavily on his mind. “No idea, you choose.”

Without saying anything, Gabriel put the car in drive and accelerated out of the parking lot. He drove for ten, twenty, thirty minutes. The air was dark, but weightless around them. They sang songs on the radio to each other, and Sam tried not to mean it when a love song came on. He failed every time. Gabriel was singing the opening to "Heat of the Moment" when they pulled into a small parking lot. In front of them sat a small building with brick walls, one large window in the front, and no sign. From the car, Sam could only see a dimly lit table.

Sam looked at Gabriel questioningly, but he just wagged his eyebrows and burst out of the car. Sam followed, laughing. Gabriel held open the door for Sam. Inside, the store was yellow-warm and filled with dark wood tables. Bookshelves lined every wall, and stacks of yellowing, worn books were everywhere -- on tables, on the floor, piled up behind the counter. A chalk-smudged sign advertised coffee and listed a book recommendation. Sam turned back around to Gabriel, who was still holding the door open and looking at Sam, a small smile on his lips. They sat down at a table in front of the window after ordering a coffee.

Sam had tried to pay with his last five dollars, but the barista waved him off with a hello to Gabriel. Sam looked questioningly at Gabriel, who shrugged and said, “I’m a regular.”

At their table, they sipped their coffees and looked around. Their table had quite a few poetry books, and they flipped through them while they chatted lightheartedly. Sam kept thinking about the library.

“What’s wrong, Sammy?” Gabriel asked, his smile slowly drooping into a concerned frown.

“It’s nothing,” he tried to brush Gabriel off.

“Seriously, Sammy, what’s wrong? You seem weird.”

“Well, you know how I ripped that book the day we were assigned our project? The library charged me for it, and I didn’t have enough money so I worked out a deal with the librarian and started working there. I was supposed to work there until the end of the year, but I came in today and someone paid off my debt. Dean didn’t do it and I hadn’t told anyone else about it,” Sam rambled.

Across the table, Gabriel was uncharacteristically silent, staring into his coffee. He hardly responded, grunting a noncommittal sound before he jumped up. He grabbed Sam’s hand, causing him to almost send his coffee sloshing over the edges of his white ceramic mug, and tugging him towards the bookshelves in the back. Sam shrugged and let himself get dragged.

“So, I’ve been coming here for awhile and I’ve never been able to reach that top shelf. Could you grab that one with the green cover?” Gabriel asked, pointing.

Sam laughed before grabbing it off the shelf and handing it to a grinning Gabriel.

“Thanks, I knew having a Samsquatch would come in handy eventually,” Gabriel teased.

Sam huffed a laugh before picking his own book. and they walked back to their table to sit and read in the warm glow of the little café.

Gabriel drove him home afterwards, but he was silent despite all attempts at conversation from Sam. At his curb, Sam still couldn’t figure out what was bothering him.

“Is something wrong?” Sam asked.

“Um, Sammy, I’ve got something to tell you, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

Sam frowned and waited for Gabriel to continue.

“Actually, never mind. It's nothing. See you tomorrow, Samsquatch,” Gabriel flashed a smile at Sam, but his eyes were still lined with worry. Sam stared at him for a second before shaking his head and getting out of the car. If it was important, Gabriel would tell him.

Upstairs, he was just about to open the door to his room when a sharp call from Dean drew his attention. He poked his head though his brother’s door.

“Sammy, I figured out who paid for your book. I just remembered that on Monday, Gabriel was asking me where you went after school. I may have let it slip that you worked in the library. So, I’m thinking that it was him,” Dean said from his desk chair across the room. He stared at Sam, waiting for his response.

“Oh, okay,” Sam said, but inside, he was fuming. Gabriel had no right to pay off his debt like that. Sam wasn’t a charity case. He had it worked out just fine. He left Dean’s room and flopped onto his bed, but he couldn’t lie still. Sam got back up, fists clenched and furious. His impulse was to confront Gabriel. So that’s what he did.

‘What the hell, Gabriel? You had no right to do that...I’m not your charity case,' Sam texted, then tossed his phone onto his bed. He threw on a pair of sweatpants and his sneakers and clomped down the stairs.

Once on the street, he let his feet pound the pavement and let all his anger out. He ran and ran until his anger was just a pit of embarrassment in the bottom of his stomach, and his sides were cramping. He bent over, trying to catch his breath for a moment, before walking all the way home. But walking gave his brain too much time to think, and he found himself getting angry again. Why would Gabriel ever think this was okay? Or that he’d want Gabriel to pay for him? He already let Gabriel pay for too much. It wasn’t any of his business whether Sam could pay or not.

Despite the aching in his legs, he took off running again. This made his brain focus too much on getting adequate oxygen and the pain in his legs to think about anything else. Once home, he flopped onto his bed, ignoring the three missed calls and four texts from Gabriel. He’d deal with those in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a week since they talked. Sam still hadn’t replied to any of Gabriel’s texts, and Gabriel must have gotten the message, because he hadn’t tried to talk to Sam in class at all. Gabriel only shot him puppy-dog eyes, but Sam hardly looked at him long enough to notice.  He constantly read the texts though.

‘Sam, I felt responsible for the book, so I paid it off. It was my fault and you were working because of me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I wanted to, but I knew you’d be mad.’

‘Sam, please, I honestly just didn’t want you to have to work. You’re my best friend, and I just wanted you to be happy. I figured not having to work would help with that.’

‘Sam, don’t you dare think you’re a charity case to me. You’ll always be the best, smartest, most wonderful person to ever grace my life.’

A few more texts had come in since that night.

‘Sam, I can’t reach the top shelf.’

‘Sam, I miss you reading our poem.’

‘Sam, I miss you.’

But Sam still didn’t reply. He knew he was being immature about it, but Gabriel made him feel poor and worthless. Frankly, it was embarrassing. He did find himself missing Gabriel, though. His laugh, his voice, his dumb jokes. He hadn’t realized how often they had touched each other when they hung out until now. A little squeeze on his shoulders, a brushing of his hand, a pat to his arm. Now his body felt empty and cold. He missed Gabriel, but he couldn’t face him again.

* * *

 

Their assignment was due in two days, though, and Sam couldn’t figure out what to do. He was glad they had  chose to do the interview first so he wouldn’t have to talk to Gabriel. He just had to show up on Friday at two and do his one on one with Ms. Mills. Then all of this would be over. Right now, though, Sam had to do his entire paper. Scratch that. Sam still had to pick his line of poetry and then write his two page paper. At this point, he wasn’t even mad at Gabriel anymore, which made everything worse somehow. He couldn’t even justify not talking to him besides the fact that his pride was hurt and he was embarrassed.

He sat down at a table in the library with every book of poetry they had stacked in front of him. He just had to pick a line. Simple. But his feelings for Gabriel were anything but, and they all were competing for the winning line. He sighed and grabbed the book on top, flipping through. Nothing. And so it went. Book, flip, nothing. Book, flip, nothing. Sam groaned and sat back, staring at the books in front of him. He was running out of time.

One little book in the middle caught his eye. It had a slim blue cover peaking out of the sea of reds and browns. He pulled it out from under the stack and sat back against his chair. He opened it without bothering to read the cover and was flipping through randomly when a line caught his eye. Sam flipped backwards slowly, looking for the one word that he caught. Electricity. Page by page he flipped backwards, until finally, he found it.

“ _For by stroking of him I have found out electricity_ ”

Goosebumps erupted across his skin and his heartbeat picked up. It was the poem, their poem. Flipping back to the cover, Sam saw that it was Christopher Smart and cursed himself for not checking it before.

He looked through a few more books, but that line stuck. That was Gabriel. He was beautiful and kind. He was overly compassionate underneath the showy class clown façade he put on at school. He was real. He was exhilarating and overwhelming and strong. Sam knew now. Gabriel was finding out electricity for the first time. He had his line.

Sam wrote his essay over the next two days, nitpicking and editing and fretting. He kept going back, thinking the line was too revealing, too cheesy, too sappy. He tried to find a safer line, but each time he went to write the essay, it came out flat and emotionless, and he knew Mills would see right through him. He was teetering on the edge of an A and this project would tip the scales either way. No A meant no college scholarship which meant no college, so he had to get this right.

Friday morning he printed his paper and shoved it in his backpack so he wouldn’t feel the urge to rip it up or find any mistakes or, worse, show it to Gabriel. For whatever reason, he had the strongest urge to show Gabriel. To show him and tell him _this is what you mean to me and this is what you are_. But he restrained himself. What if Gabriel didn’t feel the same way?

Sam could barely focus all day, a knot of nerves building inside his stomach. He could feel the crippling weight of the essay from his backpack at his feet. With heavy feet he walked to last hour and sat in the hallway with the rest of the class. Mills had gone over how this would go. Everyone would be outside and she’d call in individuals from the group, then the pair together at the end to ask any questions and to collect the interviews. Sam sat down by the lockers, adjusting so nothing was cutting into his spine, and pulled out his ear buds. Around him, each pair was sitting with each other. He knew Gabriel would probably show up right before the bell, so he turned up his music loud and closed his eyes.

He felt the air shift when Gabriel slid down next to him. He didn’t say anything, and after a few minutes, Sam snuck a peak at the boy. Gabriel was staring straight ahead at the wall across from them, his head resting on his knees, arms wrapped around his legs. It hit Sam now. That thing he’d been trying to put his finger on with Gabriel for awhile. Gabriel wasn’t sad when no one was looking, like Sam thought earlier. No, he was exactly himself. A little insecure, a little positive, a little relaxed. He was himself when no one was watching.

Sam scooted over slowly and closed the distance between them until he was sitting with his legs stretched out and his side was pressed against Gabriel’s. In this position, a lock was digging into his back, but he didn’t move. He waited for Gabriel to react.

Gabriel slowly unfolded himself, stretched his legs out and leaned his head onto Sam’s shoulder, like he used to. They didn’t talk. Sam hadn’t forgotten and Gabriel knew that. Both just relaxed into the warmth of each other and waited.

Mills called Gabriel in first, since his last name was higher in the alphabet than Sam’s. Sam squeezed Gabriel’s leg and leaned away so he could get up. He could see Gabriel click his façade back into place, teasing and smiling as he walked into the classroom. It occurred to Sam that he didn’t know what line Gabriel picked for him. Part of him didn’t want to know. What if it was just something shallow, something dismissive or something that told him that Gabriel didn’t feel anything more than friendship for them? Gabriel would be the kind of person to play it safe and pick something generic to protect himself from being vulnerable, and he really hoped he hadn't done that. Gabriel would fail for sure.

It felt like forever as Sam waited. It took much longer than everyone else until Gabriel was opening the door and walking towards Sam. He was beaming, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes uncertain. Sam stood up, brushing off his pants and pulling his essay out of his backpack. His hands were shaking as he fumbled to open the door.

Mills was sitting at a student desk she had turned around to face on in the front row. He sat down at the open desk and put his paper down.

“Alright, Sam. I’ll take this, tell me what line you chose first,”she said as she slid his paper over to herself and placed it on top of the pile. He was relieved to see she hadn’t stopped to read it first.

“Um, I chose a line from ‘For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry’by Christopher Smart,” Sam said and paused to catch his breath.  Ms. Mills on the other side had gone completely still, her eyes trained on Sam.

“For Gabriel, I chose the line ‘ _For by stroking of him I have found out electricity_ ’.”Sam felt his cheeks burn, and he looked down at the table.

Ms. Mills’breath hitched, but Sam didn’t notice. “Briefly explain why, please.”

“He turned out to be pretty cool, I guess,” Sam said, knowing without looking up that Mills wanted more. “Well, at first, I thought Gabriel was going to be like he is in class, all jokes and teasing with no attention span, but he isn’t. He’s surprising and exhilarating. He’s kind and compassionate. He never said a negative thing the whole time we hung out. He invited me over, but didn’t tell me it was his birthday because he didn’t want to make me feel like I had to go. He surprised me, and he was exactly like discovering electricity for the first time. Unexpected, but natural.”

Without a word, she got up from her desk and opened the wooden door.

“Gabriel, could you come in here?” She held the door for Gabriel and dragged another desk next to Sam’s. As he sat down Gabriel sent a questioning look at Sam, who only shrugged in response. He had no idea if this was how all of the pairs went, but he doubted it.

“Alright boys, can I have your interviews?” They handed them over,  and she put them in another pile on her desk.

“I just have a few questions now. To start, did you guys work on your essays together?”

Both boys shook their heads. She nodded, but seemed a little disappointed.

“And you each don’t know what the other picked?”

Again, they shook their heads.

“Okay, you’re free to go. Call in the next group please, Gabriel?”

They stood up, but Mills grabbed Sam’s arm asking him to wait a second as Gabriel walked out.

“You need to tell that boy," was all she said before she let go. Sam left the room more confused than ever. In the hallway, Gabriel was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 

Sam got the idea the next day while staring at his phone and willing it to ring. He quickly printed out a copy of his essay and took off. Saturday morning, 9 a.m., Gabriel would be at basketball practice. He jogged to the school, scanning the rows of cars in the parking lot before finding Gabriel’s car gleaming in the morning sun. Around him the air was still and silent. Sam left the essay under the windshield wiper, scribbling a little note on top.

‘Happy Late Birthday, Gabriel’

He hoped it would be enough. When he got home, Sam noticed an envelope he hadn’t seen before sitting at his front door. He must have run past without seeing it. He opened it as he climbed the stairs, tossing the envelope in his garbage and pulling out two white pieces of paper. It was Gabriel’s essay. On the top was a note.

‘Sorry, Sammy, but I have to tell you somehow."

He sank into his desk chair and started to read.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the ending is a little rough, let me know what you think!

‘ _For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes_ _’_

That was the line Gabriel chose for Sam. It was from their poem. Sam read the essay quickly. He read about how Gabriel hated himself for having to put on a façade to protect himself and how Sam made him feel safe for the first time in a long time. Read about Sammy, the smirking ray of light whenever Gabriel felt down. Read about the Sammy who let Gabriel fall asleep when he was feeling down about himself that one day, the Sammy that read Gabriel to sleep. Read about the Sam that Gabriel let down, like he let down everyone else. And Sam knew. He knew why Ms. Mills had asked them if they’d worked together and told him to talk to Gabriel-- because Sam wasn’t the only one with a little more than a crush.

So Sam paced and waited. Gabriel’s practice wouldn’t be over for another thirty minutes, and he could hardly choke down the warmth glowing from his heart. He smiled as he paced and paced as he smiled and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

His face and his legs were aching when his phone rang from his bed. Sam dove for it, flipping it open without even checking. He knew exactly who it was.

“Hello?”                                                                                                                                           

“Come outside,” Gabriel said from the other end of the phone.

Sam tore down the stairs and flung open his front door, realizing too late that he was still wearing his sweatpants and the t-shirt that he'd slept in. Gabriel was once again leaning against his car, and Sam grinned.

They both stood frozen and smiling at each other. Sam in his pajamas, phone clutched in his hand, feet bare on the cement. Gabriel sweaty from practice, wearing his basketball uniform, phone clutched in his hand. But then suddenly they weren’t frozen anymore, they were in the middle of Sam’s front yard and only inches from each other.

“Hi,” Sam breathed.

“Hi,” Gabriel breathed back.

Then Gabriel was tugging Sam down by his neck, Sam wasn’t resisting, and they were kissing, warm and sweet. ‘I missed you,’ they seemed to say as they kissed. ‘I like you.' ‘I need you’. They melted into each other, feeling safe and warm and happy, and Sam couldn’t remember why they hadn't done this before. Gabriel’s hand was warm on the back of his neck, his other hand stroking up and down his spine and sending electricity through his body. He ran his fingers through Gabriel’s hair and felt the warmth of the sun on his fingertips. Gabriel was smiling against his lips and they broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other’s and catching their breath.

“For by stroking him I have found out electricity,” Sam whispered.

“For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes,” Gabriel whispered back.

Dean pulled up just then, honking the horn of the Impala and Gabriel and Sam dissolved into laughter against each other. They spent the rest of the day and the next together, just happy together. And when they walked into class on Monday afternoon hand in hand and radiant, well Jody Mills couldn’t say she was surprised.

* * *

It was three years later, Sam’s sophomore year in college and he was home for Christmas break. Dean had gone out shopping and John was at work, leaving the house to just Sam and Gabriel.

“Hey, babe?” Gabriel called from the kitchen. He was cooking for both their families, who were supposed to show up in an hour, and Sam was setting the table in the other room.

“Yeah?” Sam called.

“I ran out of eggs, could you go grab some real quick?” Sam said yes and grabbed his keys and a coat from the door.

“Oh, and since you’re already going out,” Gabriel started acting nonchalant, “could you get me one of those peppermint hot chocolates?”

Laughing, Sam climbed in his car and drove first to the grocery store. Inside, he grabbed a carton of eggs and headed to checkout. Around him, people hurried everywhere, frantically getting last minute things. It was only two days until Christmas. He waved to Charlie who introduced him to her new girlfriend.  They chatted for a few minutes about college and being back home before Sam remembered Gabriel was waiting for him.

At the checkout, he saw those red and white Peppermint Hershey Kisses and tossed those onto the counter too. He knew Gabriel would love them and Sam needed a few more stocking stuffers.

He fought his way out of the parking lot and drove to the coffee shop, annoyed but not surprised to find the line out the door. In front of him, bundled up and mittened people chatted happily while the baristas scrambled to fill each order quickly. Although it took half an hour for him to get his order, Sam left a tip bigger than his total in the jar. They deserved it.

He drove back home feeling merry and parked in the driveway. Sam got out and stashed the Hershey Kisses in his coat pocket to hide from Gabriel before unlocking the front door. The house was silent.

“Babe, I got your drink. Extra, extra chocolate, like usual.” Sam called out, but there was no response.

“Gabriel?” He walked into the kitchen. In the doorway he paused, shocked at what he saw. On the tile not two feet in front of him, sat a golden retriever puppy , something hanging around his neck. Confused, Sam set the drink and carton of eggs down on the counter and knelt in front of the dog.

“Hello there, what’s your name?” He scratched the dog’s ears as he read the sign around its neck.

‘Hi Sam, Follow Me’ It read in Gabriel’s slightly messy handwriting. He stood up and looked around. On the floor, dog treats lay in a trail, leading out the open glass doors to the backyard. The dog’s ears twitched and it trotted along, picking up the treats as it went. Sam followed. The dog led Sam around the house and there, on the side of the house, in the grass, surrounded by candy canes and dusted in powdered snow was Gabriel on one knee. And he was beaming.

“What do you say, Sammy? Marry me?”

Sam nodded and Gabriel jumped up and flung his arms around Sam’s neck. They kissed sweetly, and happily. Sam felt like his heart would burst when Gabriel slid the silver band around his finger.

“That’s good, because I wouldn't have let you keep the dog if you said no,” Gabriel teased.

Sam crushed Gabriel in a hug, snorting at his joke.

“Oh, what are these?” Gabriel asked, reaching into Sam’s pocket and pulling out the chocolate. Sam groaned.

“Those were supposed to be for your stocking,” Sam said.

“It’s a little late for that, Sammy,” Gabriel responded, already opening the bag and shoving two in his mouth at once."Shouldn't have left them where I could find them."

Sam burst out laughing, happier than he’d ever been. They walked back into the house hand in hand, Gabriel eating his chocolate and arguing with Sam about what to name the puppy.


End file.
